Chalk Butterfly: Part One (First Time Erotic Romance) (10 page)

Daniel smiled again, and turned up Neil
Young who was telling him to “dream up, dream up.”

***

“No, really, you look beautiful in
green.”

“Elijah?” Alexander stared hard at his
friend.

“Hey, I agree,” Elijah said.

“I specifically told you not to tell
Elizabeth!” Alexander cried, fleeing his bedroom with a fluttering
Elizabeth behind him.

“Alex!” Elizabeth squawked, tugging on one
of Alexander’s long curls. “You really expected Eli to help you in
any way? He can’t even dress himself.”

“She has a point,” Elijah called from the
bedroom. “Whoa, is this a thong?”

Alexander’s ears went bright red, and
Elizabeth’s eyes opened wide. They both hurried back into the room
to see Elijah looking thoughtfully at the green turtleneck
Alexander had thrown on the bed.

“You are such a child,” Elizabeth said,
rolling her eyes.

“Hey, why is he blushing so hard if it isn’t
true?” Elijah pointed out. Alexander sighed heavily, and pressed
his hands gently to his face.

How had this entire thing gotten so far out
of control?

“Elijah, he blushes when I come into work
wearing black pantyhose,” Elizabeth said. “Alex, honey, I beat it
out of him, I swear. I’m just so excited for you. You haven’t been
on a date in ages!”

“Literally,” Elijah quipped, and Elizabeth
shot him a dirty look.

“Liz,” Alexander said quietly from between
his hands.

“What is it?”

“Do I really blush that much?”

Elizabeth laughed and gently took
Alexander’s hands in her own. “Yes, but you’re beautiful when you
do,” she said. Alexander lifted his head, caught her warm gaze, and
smiled. “Well, right now you look like a tomato.”

“Hey!” Alexander said, pulling back. “So,
the green turtleneck?”

“I’d vote on it,” Elijah said, standing.

Alexander could tell Elijah felt a tad left
out, and he grinned at his younger friend. He picked up the green
turtleneck sweater and said, “See, Lij does have some taste.”

Elizabeth laughed and Elijah scowled. “I
hate when you call me Lij.”

“I think it’s cute,” Elizabeth commented,
and this time Elijah reddened.

Alexander giggled, hearing Elijah mumble a
flustered, “Really?” as he walked into the bathroom. Once in the
small bathroom, he carefully lifted the purple shirt that Elizabeth
had called atrocious only a few hours earlier over his head.

He was very particular with the shirts he
wore, bright colors or not. Rarely did he wear button up shirts,
and as a rule he stayed away from them. Lately even zippers were a
task, but it was a bit more difficult to find trousers without them
and he refused to wear pants with elastic waist bands.

He pulled the shirt slowly off his arms and
over his wrapped hands, wincing only slightly when the sleeve
hooked around his thumb. His hands and back were still sore from
the incident in the kitchen some nights ago, but he tried to keep
his mind off that.

Looking in the mirror, he tried to smile. It
was more difficult now that he was alone. Though he had been rather
annoyed with Elijah for telling Elizabeth about his date and
bringing her over to the apartment, he found that their combined
supportive presence had actually calmed the nerves in his stomach.
He’d been almost frantic the entire day, and now he only felt a bit
shaky.

The mirror was kind that evening, and
Alexander approved of what he saw. His hair actually behaved for a
change, soft and long at his shoulders. He smiled, telling himself
that it was only one night…

Telling himself that Daniel would
understand, that he wouldn’t stare at Alexander’s hands like
perhaps the disease that lingered there might be contagious.
Alexander’s smile smoothed into a frown, his hands sweating.

Or Daniel might not understand, he might
only think of Alexander as a good, quick time.

The thought made Alexander’s stomach jump,
made his eyes see the mirror in a different way. His naked chest
was so slight, so small, his waist trim to the point of emaciation.
The smooth, soft skin was marred, blistered, imperfect.

Trembling, he put a gentle hand to his
collarbone. He let it rest there as his heartbeat picked up. All of
his nervous energy welled up underneath his skin, and he wanted to
cover it immediately.

He turned from the mirror and pulled on the
turtleneck quickly, uncaring of how his hands and back stung. Tears
welled in his eyes, and he couldn’t help but think of how
ridiculous he was, crying over something so normal.

And then there was a knock on the door.

“Alexander?” It was Elizabeth. “My, god,
Alex, I think he’s here!”

Alexander gulped, wiping at his eyes with
the sleeve of his sweater.

“Alexander, are you alright?”

“Yes, yes,” he stammered out, avoiding the
mirror at all costs. “Are you sure?”

“Yes!” Elizabeth whispered harshly. “Who
else would be knocking on your door at six?”

Alexander took a deep breath and pushed the
door open. “You didn’t get the door?”

“No, Elijah started squealing like a girl,”
Elizabeth said. “Alex, are you really okay? You look…”

Another knock on the door rung out through
the apartment.

“I’ve got to get that,” Alexander said. He
walked past her, and then stopped as Elijah bounded out of the
bedroom. “Oh, no!”

“What?” Elizabeth and Elijah asked in
unison.

“I don’t want Daniel to see Elijah
here.”

“Oh, thanks,” Elijah muttered.

“No, it’s not that,” Alexander said.

“Except for if it is,” Elijah countered.

The knocking came again, and Alexander’s
eyes went big. “Say something,” Elizabeth said, motioning to the
door.

Alexander opened his mouth and then closed
it. “Um,” he said, walking toward the door. “Just a moment!”

There were a few seconds of silence.

'Maybe he left,' Alexander thought, an odd
sense of relief washing through him.

“Okay,” came a warm voice through the door.
It was definitely Daniel. “It’s, just… I think there’s a cat out
here who desperately dislikes me…”

Alexander’s eyes went wider.

“Cat!” he said loudly, turning and glaring
at Elijah.

“Yes, a cat,” Daniel said again.

“One moment!” Alexander called loudly.
“Elijah, you let Cat out again?” he hissed. Elijah hid behind
Elizabeth.

Daniel said something softly in reply, but
Alexander was busy frantically pulling on his jacket and
mittens.

“You two,” he whispered, turning toward his
friends. “In the bathroom!”

“What?” Elizabeth squeaked. Elijah looked
almost pleased.

“I don’t want him to think… or… Elijah,”
Alexander finished. “How pathetic will I look if I have half of my
friends over, waiting with me?”

“We're your
only
friends,” Elijah
corrected.

Elizabeth smacked him in the shoulder.
“
Alex, he won’t care,” she said, but Alexander wasn’t
listening.

“And I don’t want to do introductions yet.
I’m so nervous.”

Elizabeth frowned, but pushed Elijah into
the bathroom anyway. “Have a good time,” she whispered, leaning
forward to give Alexander a soft kiss on the cheek. “Don’t be
nervous.”

Alexander forced a smile and nudged the door
shut, turning to stare at the front door.

“Okay,” he whispered, and then strode
purposely across the floor. Adjusting his mittens, he opened the
door.

Chapter
Six

back to top

“Alexander,” Daniel greeted softly, arms
full of Cat. “I think we’ve come to a truce, the cat and I.”

“Oh,” was all Alexander could muster. There
stood Daniel, looking as handsome as ever, dressed in a crisp grey
suit that was now quit covered in cat hair.

“See, your neighbor, the tiny little Chinese
lady from across the hall, came out with her dog, and let me just
say, this little fellow found me quite a bit more charming then. He
hopped right into my arms.”

Alexander stood awkwardly in the doorway for
a few moments, calming his breathing. “Daniel,” he finally said,
meeting the older man’s eyes.

“The very same,” Daniel replied.

“It’s mine,” Alexander said, stepping
across the threshold. “The cat. His name is Cat, too, so you know…
it wouldn’t be too confusing. It’s not very original, maybe. But
I’m a big
Breakfast At Tiffany's
fan.”

Daniel’s smile widened and Alexander found
himself grinning back. “May I come in?” he asked. “Set the little…
er… big guy down?”

“Well, I don’t want to make us late.”
Alexander looked warily behind him at the bathroom door, and then
back at Daniel.

“We won’t be,” Daniel said, as the cat began
squirming in his grasp.

“Oh, well then, please, come on in.”
Alexander stepped out of the way and let Daniel into his tiny
little world.

Daniel set the large cat down and they both
watched the chubby animal head straight to his food dish, diving
into his kibble headfirst. Daniel chuckled, brushing some stray cat
hairs off his long navy jacket, and turned to Alexander. “You look
beautiful tonight, Alexander.”

Alexander felt the warmth of Daniel’s gaze
right on his cheeks, and he knew they must be crimson. “Thank you.”
He smiled again, found it practically impossible not to. There was
something about Daniel and the way he said Alexander’s name. “You
look…” Don’t say pretty, don’t say pretty, don’t say pretty.
“Pretty.”

Daniel smiled wide, chuckling. “Pretty?”

“Pretty nice,” Alexander corrected. “Pretty
great.”

“Pretty silly,” Daniel added, and they
shared a grin. “I like your place,” he said, but he only had eyes
for Alexander. The apartment actually could have be likable, but
Daniel wasn’t even sure what room they were standing in. From the
moment Alexander had opened the door, he’d found himself near
breathless at the younger man’s delicate beauty. He looked fine, so
very fine tonight.

“It’s not much, very small, but… I’m rather
fond of it.”

Daniel let his eyes drift, noticing how
Alexander began squirming under his intense gaze. He had a tendency
to be rather rude that way, though really, he just paid compliments
with his eyes.

The apartment was small, Daniel found, but
very well kept even in its slight clutter. The living room they now
stood in was tiny and warm. Daniel could see into the kitchen as
well, where Cat sat hunched over his bowl, and that too looked like
a cheery affair.

“It’s small in a cozy way, very different
from my apartment. My car feels more like home then my actual
home,” Daniel admitted lightly, still smiling. “Oh, how rude of me,
I’m forgetting my manners. How are you?”

“I’m the one who left you standing outside
my door for an eternity, and then forgot to invite you in,”
Alexander said, locking eyes with Daniel.

“Yes, but your rudeness is somehow
charming,” Daniel said. “Unlike mine, which is just…rude.”

Alexander could only blush, not that he
wasn’t already.

‘I must look like a tomato, like Elizabeth
said,’ he thought, bringing his mittened hands up to his face,
brushing a curl from his forehead.

“Well,” Alexander started, “I’m… well. How
are you?”

“Good,” Daniel replied. “Very good. I’m glad
you agreed to have dinner with me.”

“It was all just a ploy to get my pen back,”
Alexander said, his eyes drifting from Daniel to the floor.

Daniel chuckled and shook his head. “It’s
nice to see you again.”

“Yes. You, too. Would you like to head out,
or…?”

“Actually.”

Alexander didn’t like the sound of that.

“Could I use your bathroom? I'd like to
brush off a bit of this cat hair.”

Alexander gaped at him for a moment.

He thought of a million excuses at to why
Daniel shouldn’t use the bathroom, some bordering on the truth (two
rabid monkeys escaped from the zoo and are holding up in the bath
tub!), but all he could manage was a quiet, “Of course.”

Alexander showed Daniel to the bathroom
door, hoping that somehow Elijah and Elizabeth would dematerialize
if he thought on it hard enough.

But of course, things didn’t always go
Alexander’s way.

Before Daniel could even turn the handle,
the door flung wide open, Elizabeth bursting from the room with a
look of utter contempt on her face. Elijah followed after her, his
face bright red on one side.

“Elizabeth, it was an accident!” he cried,
pushing past Alexander and an extremely confused Daniel.